#239: Chef
Release Date: May 9th, 2014
Format: Streaming (Tubi)
Written by: Jon Favreau
Directed by: Jon Favreau
3.5 Stars
I remember when Chef was released in 2014. It felt vibrant. Here was Jon Favreau returning to his roots as the writer/director of a charming character study, about a divorced Gen X chef who’s in a creative rut, so he quits his job, buys a food truck, and travels the country with his 10-year-old son and best friend, making and selling some pretty damn good-looking cubano sandwiches along the way.
Maybe you had to be there in 2014, but this movie captured something in the American culture that felt very real and contemporary. For example, it depicted a young Gen Z kid (did we have that generational label yet?) at the dawn of the social media era, using Twitter to bolster his dad’s food truck business. It felt a bit quaint watching it tonight, but back in 2014 it felt so fresh. Also, Chef put its finger on the pulse of that specific type of 2010s Anthony Bourdain-y type of hipsterdom that was exploding in Los Angeles at the time, with heavily tattooed chefs making unpretentious, multicultural food, while oddly embracing a kind of counter-culture badboy persona (are chefs still like this today?).
Watching Chef tonight, I think some of its vibrancy has been lost in the decade since its release. It’s more of an artifact of its time than a film that’s going to sweep you away, but it’s still charming. The food looks great, the soundtrack is fun, and Jon Favreau accomplishes exactly what he sets out to accomplish, namely telling the story of a man saving his career and his relationship with his son by staying true to who he is.
Postscript: Sure, Chef may be charming, but let’s not ignore its vanity, too. No offense to Jon Favreau, but he pencils in Sofia Vergara and Scarlett Johansson as his lovers in the film. Bold move. Also, his character’s flaws aren’t really flaws: he gets fired from the restaurant because he’s too dedicated to his craft; also, his son isn’t upset because his dad isn’t around, rather he’s upset because they’re always going to Disneyland or the movies rather than just hanging out.
